


Better Than Firewhiskey

by rapunzell



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 30 Kisses Challenge, F/M, Ficlet Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-06-05 17:10:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 17,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6713659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapunzell/pseuds/rapunzell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>30 Rumbelle flashfics based off the 30 Kisses Challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anger Management

**Author's Note:**

> So the goal is to post one ficlet everyday in May. I'm using List Sigma/education from the 30 Kisses Challenge on LJ. Every AU will include education in some way. So I might do a student/teacher AU later in the month...

Rumplestiltskin smashed his cane against the wall. Belle awoke with a start at the sound, pushing herself off the couch and rushing over to him. 

“Rumple!” She placed her hand on his arm to stop him from damaging the rest of Neal’s old apartment. When Hades threatened to take their baby, they left Storybrooke to escape his reach. They settled in New York City, but once their daughter grew older they planned on traveling the world. 

“Was it the traffic again?” Belle guessed.

“If only it was just the traffic,” Rumple groaned, pulling his jacket off so fast she was scared he would rip it. 

“You need to learn to control your temper,” Belle murmured, leading him over to their couch. “Tell me what happened.”

“First I see someone had the nerve to open an antique shop right across from me. Then some kids tried to steal that damn genie’s lamp. And then a tourist dropped a teacup and now the whole set is ruined!”

“Isn’t it just a-”   
“It’s not just a cup, Belle. That set was worth hundreds of dollars. We could use that for diapers or the rent or nice shoes for you.”

Belle put her hand on his back, rubbing soothingly through his shirt. “We can afford all that stuff just fine.”   
“Now we can, but what about in a few months? We’re in a new city and I’m unable to provide for you without my-” he stopped himself.

“Without your magic? Rumple you don’t need any of that. You have your savings and soon I’ll hopefully be working again. Even if that doesn’t work, we just need each other. We’ll be fine.”

“I’m scared, Belle,” he confessed.

“Of what?” Belle asked, though she probably knew the answer.

“Of being unable to provide for you and our daughter. I’ve been unable to provide for my family once before and it ended awfully. We’re not in Storybrooke anymore and I’m glad of that and I know you are, too, but I miss the security of knowing I had power.”

“Well I’m not afraid. And maybe that’s foolish to say since I never lived in poverty like you, but I know who I married. As long as you come home at the end of that day, that would be enough.” 

Rumple’s lips seized hers, the excitement running through her body still the same as the first time their lips touched. They started out living in a land without running water, but now they were living in the greatest city in this realm with a beautiful daughter. They would be fine. 


	2. Library Book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Typical no curse AU where the landlord falls head over heels for the librarian.

Mr. Gold slid the Mary Shelley biography into the return slot. From the aisles of bookshelves, Belle French emerged with a cart full of books. 

“Mr. Gold!” She greeted, abandoning the cart to shuffle around the circulation desk. “I have something for you.”

Gold nodded, trying not to stare too much at her rosy cheeks and brown curls. She always had a book waiting for him. When she first moved into Storybrooke to resurrect the library, he saw it only as an opportunity to find a new tenant. He planned to sell her on moving into David Nolan’s old place, but as soon as she smiled and offered him a tour around the new library, he forgot how to speak properly. She beamed at him as she led him around the aisles of books, not aware of his reputation in town.

At the end of the little tour, he asked her if she had any book recommendations. He expected her to say something along the lines of  _ Twilight _ but instead she told him of her love of biographies. She told him of her love for getting to know people through reading about them. He found himself hanging on her every word about loving to read about people, though nobody in town hated people more than Mr. Gold. She sent him off with a biography on Victoria Woodhull which he read in two nights and returned as soon as he could. When he returned it, she had another recommendation for him, and soon book recommendations became their thing. He’d learned more about famous historical women in the past three months than he had in his whole fifty-five years. Sometimes if he wanted to see her but he hadn’t finished the book he was currently reading he would walk in and browse the sections on repairing antiques. He pretended to forget where it was every time so he would have to ask her.

He thought that once she grew accustomed to the town and started talking to more people, she would realize what a monster he was and hate him, but that never happened. She became close with Ruby, who’d hated him her whole life, yet Belle still smiled each time she saw him. Sometimes he smiled back.

On this particular day, when Belle handed him the book she wanted him to read, he frowned at the title. “ _ Harry Potter _ ? Ms. French I believe this would be better suited for Henry Mills.”

“C’mon, Mr. Gold,” she urged, “give it a chance?”   
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said, without even thinking. It was just a reflex to offer someone a deal if they wanted something from him. But what did he want from her?

“Okay,” she nodded, coming around the desk to stand in front of him. “You’ll read the book if I do what?”

“Go on a date with me.” Well, that was what he wanted from her but he hadn’t meant to actually say that.

She smiled. “Yes.”

“Wait,” he fumbled with the children’s book in his hands, “I didn’t mean to say that you didn’t have to say yes I-”

She cut him off by brushing her lips against his. “I’d love to,” she whispered. “That is, if you want to?”

“Of course I want to,” he replied, leaning down to kiss her once more.


	3. Walking on Eggshells

They moved back in together as soon as they settled their problems from the Underworld. They learned long ago to cherish the time they had together since it never lasted long. He hadn’t moved anything since she left, so moving all her belongings back in was fairly easy. Living together again was not so easy. 

Rumple felt like they were walking on eggshells each time they talked about the baby- their baby and its future. Their lives were too unstable to think about any sort of future. Within months the town could be under another curse or infested with animated lions singing about the circle of life. Within just days he could say or do something to cause Belle to move out again. 

And then there was the matter of waking her up from the sleeping curse. When Moe’s kiss hadn’t worked (and Rumple was not surprised), Rumple leaned forward and kissed her himself. He hadn’t stopped to consider that she didn’t tell him he could. He just prayed to every god he knew that the different magic in Storybrooke would ensure that his kiss actually worked the second time around. When Belle woke up to his face inches from hers she’d smiled and pulled him down for another kiss. Of course their True Love’s Kiss worked. However, in waking up his wife he lost all his magic.

The Dark One dagger was just a regular knife now. Rumple had no magic at all. Nobody in Storybrooke knew but him and Belle. If the town found out about their vulnerability...Rumple didn’t want to think about that. The thought of being hated and powerless with Belle pregnant sent chills down his spine. 

So instead of thinking about the future or the town they learned to focus on the present. Rumple rushed to the supermarket or Granny’s to buy ice cream, pickles, or whatever else Belle developed a craving for. He held her hair back while she threw up and brought her to the store to buy new clothing. 

They both knew which room would be the nursery. Right across the hall from their bedroom was a guest room facing the east. The sun shined through the windows in the morning, lighting it up with a warm glow. While a normal couple would be finished decorating the nursery at eight months, Rumple and Belle were just starting on it.

Belle browsed paint swatches in the rocking chair while Rumple fiddled with the crib parts until he finally built it. They enlisted Henry to help them paint the walls lilac. Snow and Charming gave them toys to furnish the room with. 

At night, Belle rested her head on Rumple’s chest and they discussed names. Rose, Jane, Hope, even Rey were considered. Snow told them that once they held their daughter they would just know. However once Belle gave birth and they stared down at their tiny daughter, they were at a loss for words. Neither of them had expected they would ever get this far. They watched her tiny chest rise and fall as she napped on Belle’s chest. Dr. Whale told them he wouldn’t let them leave unless they gave their daughter a name.

Rumple could think of one, but he couldn’t tell if Belle would love or hate it.

“What about-” he started, but she interrupted him.

“We should name her Colette,”

Rumple nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. “That’s what I was gonna say.”

Even after all this time, they could still agree on some things. And that’s what gave Rumple hope for his future with his family. 


	4. Time Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark Castle smut.

Belle had been doing it since she was riding a horse one day and she felt a chill as she brushed against the saddle a certain way. She went home that night, brushing her fingers over places she knew nothing about until she came to a gasping release. The next day she tip toed to the library to learn about it.

She did it often in the dark of the night. She had total control over her body. Even after her nursemaid told her about marriage and the realities of the marriage bed she enjoyed her time alone.

When she went to live with Rumplestiltskin, Belle could never get in the right mood in the dungeon. She had tried, though. It would be nice to feel something familiar, something warmer than the cold stone walls around her. Once he gave her a bedroom, though, Belle could spend all the time alone she wanted. 

Now it was different. Instead of bringing up images of faceless fantasy men as she brought herself off, she had a specific person in mine. Now when she touched herself, she imagined it was the Dark One’s rough fingers running down her porcelain skin. She imagined his clawlike fingernails scratching her breasts, running down her cheek, even touching her neck. 

She wondered what her family would think if they knew she lusted after her master.

She closed her eyes as she got closer to that release, her breath coming in gasps. “Rumplestiltskin,” she groaned.

Just then Belle heard a loud crash. Her eyes shot open to see the man himself staring at her with his mouth hanging open. He’d bumped into her wardrobe. He must have heard her call his name.

In her shock, Belle realized she hadn’t moved her hand from in between her legs. She pulled it back, sitting up ramrod straight. Her cheeks burned.

“What are you doing?” 

“I should think it’s rather obvious what I’m doing, Rumple.”

He just stared at her. “Why did you say my name?”

Belle sputtered for a moment, wondering if she could lie her way out of it. Belle had never been a good liar, though, and she never wanted to be one. “I should think that is rather obvious as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you know what I mean.” Despite the fact that her cheeks must be the color of a tomato she maintained eye contact with him.

“Say it.”

“I want you.”

He was at the side of her bed in seconds, his hands hovering over her body but not not quite touching her. She leaned back into her pillows, grabbing him by the lapels and pulling him down on the bed to lay next to her. “Touch me,” she whispered.

He pushed her hair behind her ear. Belle turned her cheek into the touch, feeling the warmth of his skin against hers. He continued to run his hand down, resting it on her breast. Tentatively, he lowered his head to pepper kisses along her neckline. His hand continued its journey down, reaching the bottom of her dress and pushing it up. 

His fingers slipped through her folds. Belle’s hips lifted of their own accord, his palm hitting just the right spot. 

Belle ran her hands through his curly hair, tugging him down to look into his reptilian eyes as he inserted two fingers into her. He smirked at her light gasps of pleasure. Belle was used to biting her lip to silence herself as she brought herself to climax, but they were the only two people in this whole castle. 

Her eyes fell upon his lips. He was already two fingers deep in her. Hell, they were already living together. They did everything out of order but that didn’t mean they couldn’t experience everything. Just as Belle mustered up the courage to bring his lips down to hers, her walls started spasming around his fingers. Belle gasped for breath, letting her head fall back on her pillow. 

Rumplestiltskin lay next to her, staring intently at the pattern of her bed linens. 

Belle scooted closer to him. “Thank you,” she wrapped her arms around his form. “Maybe next time I’ll return the favor.”


	5. Cooking Breakfast

The Land Without Magic was odd. Its name suggested a bland unadvanced world, but daily life proved easier than it was back in the Enchanted Forest. Clothes were more comfortable, communication was possible from across town, and food was available in seconds. Rumple showed her how to operate the microwave, a contraption that could cook any food, even if it was frozen from the freezer, in just minutes. All the machines and gadgets overwhelmed Belle, but she was willing to learn to live in this realm.

Rumple insisted that she never needed to cook or clean again, but Belle wanted to be able to take care of herself. So she decided to cook dinner for him. He only taught her how to cook breakfast foods, though, so Belle decided to make breakfast for dinner. 

Her first morning here, Rumplestiltskin left her with a letter explaining how to figure out her way around his kitchen. Belle still remembered how he reminded her to shut the refrigerator door twice. The letter was helpful in getting her oriented with the kitchen, though. 

She slid two slices of bread into the toaster. Rumple explained that in his letter to her and it was Belle’s favorite thing to do in the kitchen because of how easy it was. She pulled the carton of eggs from the fridge, cracking a few into a bowl. Then she turned on the heat and placed the pan over it, careful to remember to spray it before pouring the eggs in so that they did not stick to the pan. She hummed to herself as she scrambled the eggs. She slid the warm fluffy eggs onto plates with toast just in time for Rumple to walk through the door.

“Are you...cooking?” He asked, looking at the dirty pan in the sink.

“I made dinner.” Belle nodded, grabbing his hand to lead him to the table. 

He looked from the breakfast foods on his plate to her. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” Belle said, “but I want to learn how. I can’t have you doing everything for me.”

Rumple continued looking from the plate to Belle, a smile playing at his lips. He brushed her cheek with his fingers. “Sweetheart, I hate to tell you this but that’s not dinner. That’s breakfast.”

“Oh shut up and kiss me.” Belle laughed.

Rumple smiled, leaning down to do just that. The eggs were a little cold by the time they got to them, but neither of them minded. 


	6. Night Life

Storybrooke didn’t have much in the way of night life. Unfortunately for Lacey French, she lived for when the moon came out and dance music came on. Fortunately for Lacey, Storybrooke had one seedy bar where all the desperate souls congregated at the end of the workday. 

Tonight only a few guys sat at the bar. None of them offered to buy Lacey a drink. Bored, Lacey munched on the microwave popcorn Keith set out on the countertop.

She held the popped kernels up for inspection, trying to see shapes in them like a child would with the clouds. Just then, she heard Keith whisper a low “Fuck.” 

Lacey turned in her stool to see what he looked at. Mr. Gold strode through, a tense quiet falling upon those he passed. 

“I couldn’t get it,” Keith muttered, scrubbing at a glass with a dirty cloth.

“We had a deal,” Mr. Gold hissed, his gold tooth glittering in the dim light.

Lacey licked her lips, wondering what that tooth would feel like against them (or other parts of her body). 

She spent too much time fearing him like her father did, but she was a grown woman now. And whatever she felt when she laid her eyes upon him was not fear. As Gold stalked out of the Rabbit Hole, money Keith claimed not to have in hand, Lacey downed the rest of her drink and rushed up to join him. 

“I thought you were about to beat Keith up,” she commented, biting her lip.

“Dearie I almost did,” he sighed, looking everywhere but her. She followed him to his car, shoving her hands into her leather jacket pockets. No matter how cold Maine got she wouldn’t give up her leather jacket. “Is there something you want?” He asked once he arrived at his car door. 

“Maybe.” Lacey stepped forward, causing him to backstep until his back was against his black Cadillac. She stood on her tiptoes, breathing in the scent of whiskey hanging off him. She leaned up to kiss him, but he closed the space between them, pressing his dry lips against hers. She pulled back, flicking her eyes down to see her red lipstick stains on his lips. She smirked, pushing her hands into his greying hair and kissing him once more. 

“I could think of one thing I want,” she said when they parted.


	7. Trouble

Belle French positioned herself behind the bookcase so that the school librarian wouldn't catch her here without a pass. Her skirt was just long enough for her to sit cross legged on the cool tile floor. She pulled out a book but couldn't concentrate.

Belle French was skipping class.

It wasn't an important class, really. It was gym class. Today they were doing the Pacer Test. The gym teachers turned on an ancient cassette tape which counted out loud for each time the students ran the length of the gym. Belle didn't exactly fancy running back and forth with no real destination other than a set number of laps, so she begged her father to let her stay home from school. He of course forced her to go, so Belle had to get out of the class on her own. 

Some footsteps in the aisle next to her made her hold her breath, but when the person got to the end of the bookcase, it was just an upperclassman who had gym the same period as her. Rum Gold skipped gym- and every other class- as often as he could without getting sent to Principal Mills. When his eyes fell on her, he smirked.

“French,” he greeted in his slight Scottish brogue and joined her on the floor. “Aren’t you scared of getting in trouble?”

Belle closed the book in her lap because now there was absolutely no chance of her reading it. “Honestly? A little. But I’m more of a coward about running the Pacer Test than I am about possibly getting detention.”

He shook his head. “You’re not a coward.”

Belle always wanted to hear those words, but she never pictured the upperclassman she had a slight crush on saying it. “But I skipped class because I was too scared of running around the gym. Now I feel kind of silly about it.”

“You had the courage to risk getting caught.” Belle looked into his eyes as he spoke, noticing for the first time how brown they were. “It’s all about your perspective.”

Belle nodded. “I suppose it did take some courage to come down here instead of go to gym like I was supposed to. I don’t remember the last time I broke a rule.”

He shrugged. “It gets kind of old after a while.”

Belle took a sip from her water bottle. “What do you normally do when you skip class?”   
“Make out with girls in the library.”

Belle fumbled with her water bottle, nearly dropping it. At her wide-eyed stare he chuckled.

“I’m kidding. I bring them to the janitor’s closet.”

Belle laughed with him, then eventually she whispered. “I’ve never done that either.”

“What?” He asked, “Break into the janitor’s closet?”

“Kiss.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I almost did and then I realized he was kind of a jerk, and I decided I’d rather save my first kiss for somebody else. And, well, nobody else has shown interest in me.” Belle played with the label on her water bottle, cursing herself for being so forward with Rum.

“Really? I’m surprised.”   
“By what?”

“That nobody else has shown interest.” He replied. “You’re smart and nice to everybody and you’re- well, you know.”

“I’m what?” 

“Uh, pretty.”

“Oh.” Belle’s cheeks burned. “Thank you.” In her head she thought that he looked pretty good, too, but she wasn’t about to say that. But then, how much worse could this conversation get? Belle wanted something, and all she had to do was ask. It was scary, but if she did the brave thing, bravery would follow. “This might be too forward,” she mumbled, keeping her gaze on her water bottle as she ripped the label off completely, “but I wouldn’t mind kissing you. You know, if you- if you were into that, that is.”

His warm fingers under her chin brought her head up to face his. He scooted closer. “You sure?” He asked.

“It’s just a kiss.”

He moved his hand to her cheek, pulling her closer. Belle placed her hands on his shoulders. Their lips met, locking for a moment before they pulled back to search each other’s faces. Belle smiled, leaning forward to kiss him more thoroughly. It was wet and messy and Belle wasn’t sure if she was doing it right, but it was much better than running in the gym. 

  
  



	8. Childish Games

Belle ran past the monkey bars and the swings, headed for the shade of the tree she spent every recess sitting under. Like every other day, Rum Gold already sat there, his head buried in a book. Since he was in second grade and she was in first, her recess started after his. He always saved the spot for the two of them, though. 

None of the other kids had discovered their tree. Everyone else played kickball together or ran on the playground. Rum and Belle read their way through the school’s library together during recess. The teachers laughed at how the two of them were already too mature for childish games.

Today Rum read aloud from  _ Peter Pan _ . 

Belle sat on the ground next to him, ignoring the dirt that would imprint itself in her yellow dress. She scooted next to him until their shoulders touched so that she could follow along as he read out loud. It’s not that Belle couldn’t read, but Rum always used funny voices for the characters when he read out loud. 

Right now, Wendy was offering to give Peter a kiss, but he didn’t know what she was talking about so he held out his hand to accept it. 

“That’s so silly,” Belle said, turning to Rum, “boys know what kisses are, right?”

Rum nodded, his brown hair flopping around his ears. Against his aunts’ wishes he was growing it out. “I know what a kiss is, but I’ve never done it.”

“Me neither.” Belle replied. 

“Maybe we could try,” Rum shrugged as he said it, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

Belle looked around to see if the teachers were looking. “Don’t you have to be boyfriend and girlfriend to do that?” She whispered.

“I could be your boyfriend if you want.”   
Belle nodded. “And I’ll be your girlfriend.”

Belle moved her head forward until she could smell his juicebox-smelling breath. He closed the gap between their faces, placing his lips on hers. His nose bumped into hers and she pulled back, giggling. 

The moment got cut short by the bell ringing to alert the second graders that their recess was over. Rum scrambled up, leaving the book with Belle. He leaned down to grab hold of her hand, bringing it to his lips to give a quick kiss. 

“See you after school?” He asked.

“Of course.”

And then he ran off into the building. Belle touched her fingers to her lips, smiling. She had a boyfriend.


	9. "Is That Really What You Want?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Underage) Student/teacher smut.

Belle pulled her jacket tighter around her. She shouldn’t have gone on that date. She knew the minute she agreed to go out with Gaston she would regret it. But she was desperate to get over Gold.

Soft-haired, brown-eyed, suit-wearing, Scottish-accented Mr. Gold.

It was the cliche of all cliches. Having a crush on her teacher. She supposed it was his fault for teaching something as boring as chemistry. Of course she would spend class fantasizing about the teacher.

Her hair was getting soaked in the rain, but then a black Cadillac pulled up next to her. For a moment she thought she was being abducted, until she saw Mr. Gold himself sitting in the driver’s seat. She pulled the door open, sitting down.

Without a word he pulled away from the curb. Belle glanced at him out of the side of her eyes, through her curtain of wet curls. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. When he stopped at a stop sign, they both turned their heads to look at each other. She wasn’t sure who moved first, but within seconds they were attacking each other’s lips.

Belle unbuckled her seatbelt, running both her hands through his hair. It really was as soft as it looked. He tasted of scotch and cinnamon, his stubble scratching against her skin. His hands traveled from her hair down her neck to rest on her hips. Belle shifted, crossing over to straddle his lap.

She ran her hand down the length of his dress shirt. She was aware of the rainwater in her hair dripping on his suit, but he didn’t seem to mind. His hands cupped her ass through her soaked cotton skirt. Belle groaned against his lips.

He took the opportunity to move his mouth to her neck, biting and sucking his way up to just under her ear. “I feel like I should make a joke about our good chemistry.” Belle whispered through the quiet of the car.

“Please don’t.” He groaned.

Belle rocked her hips over his hardening cock. “Sorry. Let me make it up to you.”

He stopped her hands at his pants zipper. “Is that really what you want?”

Belle nodded, brushing her lips against his. “Yes. Do you?”

“God, of course, Belle.” He nodded.

Belle unzipped his pants, slipping her hand under and around his cock. As she pumped her hand up and down, his mouth found hers. He made marks on her neck that would be visible the next day until he got close, leaning his head back on the car seat as he came with a groan. 

Belle’s father didn’t notice the smile she tried to suppress when she walked into the floral shop after Gold dropped her off. He also didn’t notice the marks on her neck, but her classmates did. But it was her and Gold’s secret.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have recognized the beginning of this from when I did the Songfic Shuffle Drabble Game. That's titled Pieces if you want to check it out :)


	10. Creative Solutions

It all started when she laughed at his joke at the parent-teacher conference. His son Neal started out first grade unable and unwilling to read, but with Ms. French as a teacher, he’d read through half the school library’s catalogue and then some. Gold couldn’t find enough books for his son to devour. 

When he went to the parent-teacher conference he hadn’t expected the bookish Ms. French to be so...well...pretty. And then she laughed at one of his corny jokes. And then she asked about his accent, and he asked about hers, and they talked about how strange Americans were until Mary Margaret and David Nolan knocked on the door, ready for their conference with Ms. French.

Gold chaperoned a field trip to the museum, using it as an excuse to share lunch with Ms. French. She told him to call her Belle, and then asked if he would like to share lunch with her another time.

They’d been seeing each other ever since. But because of Neal, they had to come up with creative solutions for going on dates without him knowing. Usually they met up when he was at art class or his friend Emma’s house, like today.

Belle laid with her head on his chest, his bed sheets tangled around their feet. He felt his heartbeat against the side of her face. 

“The last day of school is next week,” she said, letting the words hang in the air.

About a month ago they’d decided to tell Neal about their relationship the day after the last day of school, when it was no longer a conflict of interest. They would tell him on the last day of school, but neither of them felt confident that he wouldn’t get mad at them. They couldn’t ruin his last day of school like that.

“We should take him out to ice cream,” Gold thought outloud, “somewhere public where he can’t run away.”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

Gold ran his hand up and down her back. “If I found out my father was seeing my teacher for months while I was completely in the dark, I’d be at least a little mad.”

“Well you’re not your father,” Belle lifted her head to look into his eyes, knowing that talking about his father was difficult for him.

“I love you.”   
Belle scooted up until their lips lined up perfectly. “I love you too.” She leaned down to kiss him, moving her legs to straddle him. He let his hands roam under her shirt, deepening the kiss. 

His bedroom door shot open. “Papa I’m- Ms. French?”   
Belle froze on top of him. Gold gently removed her, moving her to lay next to him. 

“What are you doing here?” Neal scratched his head.

Belle turned to him, her eyes wide. “Son, do you want some ice cream?” Gold asked.

“Don’t change the subject,” Neal snapped, pulling himself up to stand at his full four feet. “What is Ms. French doing here? Why are you two in bed in the middle of the day?”

Gold groaned. It was going to be a long night. 


	11. Ice Skating

Belle stepped out onto the ice, her feet in the clunky skates refusing to stay still. Her legs wobbled and she grabbed onto the wall next to her. Rum, her best friend, chuckled, skating in circles around her. 

She promised him that she would ice skate at their eighth grade outing, but she lacked the coordination to make it out of this alive. Belle burrowed into her North Face jacket, wishing skating was as easy as it looked.

“Let go of the wall.” Rum advised.

Belle shook her head. “I’ll fall.”

“I won’t let you.”

Belle nodded slowly, pushing herself away from the wall. She couldn’t get herself to balance. When she tried to move a leg, her whole body went with it. Rum rushed over to her, putting his arms around her to steady her. “You okay?” He asked.

Belle nodded, too tense to verbally reply. 

“Let’s try moving forward.” He suggested, slowly moving his legs to show her what to do with her own. Once they’d made it halfway across the rink without Belle slipping, Rum removed himself from her. Belle immediately noticed the loss of heat. She ignored her shivering, putting all her energy into staying upright. “I knew you could do it.” Rum smiled at her.

Belle smiled back, his faith in her making her heart flutter. 

Wait a minute. Since when had she thought of Rum as anything other than her friend?

If she wasn’t looking at the way he licked his lips as they moved forward or how his hair shone in the light, she would have noticed Gaston’s voice behind her. But she didn’t, and he slammed into her from behind. Belle’s cheek stung when it came in contact with the ice. Her elbow felt like it’d been destroyed, but Belle bit her tears back. She was too old to cry in front of all her classmates. 

“What the hell was that?!” Rum shouted at Gaston as Ms. Blanchard helped Belle up.

“The three of you,” the teacher looked at them with stern eyes, “Out. Now.”

Ms. Blanchard helped Belle make it back to normal ground, then took her skates off for her. Gaston and Rum stared daggers at each other as they pulled their skates off.

Ms. Blanchard set her up with an ice pack to sooth her bloody cheek, making her sit in the stands with Rum and Gaston, who were on time out. 

“You never even apologized.” Rum grumbled at Gaston once Ms. Blanchard had walked away.

Gaston shrugged. “Sorry I pushed your midget girlfriend.”

“Did you just call her-”

“Yeah I did you fucking pussy.”

Rum stood up, his hands balled into fists. Gaston stood up too, taking a step back. “I’m gonna go now. Have fun being in time out.” Gaston turned, running out before any of the teachers chaperoning the trip could see.

“Sorry, Belle.”   
“It’s not your fault,” Belle adjusted the ice pack on her cheek to better talk. “Sorry for getting you in time out. I know you like ice skating.”

Rum shrugged, playing with a tear in his jeans. “I don’t mind. I like spending time with you.”

“I do too.”

Rum turned to her. “We’ll still spend time together when we’re in high school, right?” 

Belle nodded. “I hope so.”

“Good,” Rum smiled his cute half smile. “Good thing. You need someone to protect you from jerks like Gaston.”

“I can protect myself.” Belle protested, sitting up a little straighter. 

Rum laughed. “I know you can. I like that about you.”

Belle looked behind them, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Like... _ like _ like?”

Rum froze. “I mean in the way Gaston was saying, yeah.”

“I feel the same,” Belle admitted, a smile blooming on her face. 

Rum grabbed the wrist of her hand holding the ice to her face, gently lowering it to her lap. He placed a warm kiss on her ice cold cheek. With a quick glance in the direction of the teachers, Belle leaned forward to place a kiss on his lips. 

They beamed into each other’s eyes when she pulled away. “Thanks,” he said eventually. They both erupted into giggles, unable to explain what was so funny when Ms. Blanchard came looking for Gaston. 


	12. Artistic Ability

Belle lacked any and all artistic ability. Her best friend Neal, however, planned to become an artist when he graduated, so they always teamed up on class projects. She did the research part and he did the aesthetics. Some saw it as an unfair arrangement, but Belle loved researching and Neal worked hard on the art part. 

That’s why it was so easy for Belle’s father to believe her when she told him she wouldn’t be able to work in the flower shop because she and Neal had a school project. He let her go, not even glancing up from his phone when she asked. If he had glanced up, he might have noticed that she hiked her skirt up just enough and that she wore a sheer top without a camisole underneath. But these fashion choices went undetected by him.

Belle walked to the Gold residence. She’d been planning this since her eighteenth birthday, but now that she was actually putting the plan into play she kept nervously running her hands through her hair and worrying her bottom lip. Neal wouldn’t be at home when she got there, she was sure of it. She checked with Emma three times to make sure the two would be on a date. 

Belle rang the doorbell once. For a moment she thought he might not be home and it was all for nothing, but then the door swung open and she was face to face with Mr. Gold. 

“Ms. French?”

“Hey,” she smiled, biting her lip. “I’m here to work on a project with Neal.”

Mr. Gold looked behind him, his eyebrows scrunched together. “Neal’s out right now.”

“Oh.” Belle acted surprised. “Sorry, I must have mixed up the dates.”

“It’s no worry.” He pulled the door open a little more. “You can come in if you’d like.”

“Oh I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“You’re always welcome here.” He shut the door behind her and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness of his home. “Can I take your jacket?”

Belle slipped her jacket off. She could tell he noticed the black bra she wore under her sheer white blouse by the way his eyes shot to the ceiling as he accepted the jacket from her. He led her into the kitchen, where she hopped up onto the countertop. He’d been letting her do that since the first time she came over this house for a playdate with Neal. 

“Tea?” He asked. Belle nodded, and he turned to preparing a cup for her. He already had a cup, half the tea gone (or maybe half the tea was still there) already. When he brought the small china cup to her, he sat down at the chair closest to her. She sipped the tea, swinging her legs under her. 

“So how have you been?” He asked.

Belle shrugged. He was never really one for small talk, so the question caught her off guard. This wasn’t how she pictured attempting to seduce her best friend’s father. Maybe today wasn’t the right time. “I’ve been okay, I guess.” She said eventually. “Everyone’s excited for prom, but I can’t find it in me to look forward to it. It’s not like I have a date or anything, you know?”

“What about Gaston?”

Belle let out a bitter laugh. “We ended it months ago. I could never really care for someone as superficial as he.”

“And no other lucky boys have caught your attention?”

“I’m not really into...boys,” she said, looking into his eyes and hoping he would catch what she was saying. She inched her hand closer to his hand cradling his teacup.

“Oh.” He raised his eyebrows. “Girls, then?”

“No,” she shook her head, “I mean...high school boys. I tend to feel more attracted towards  _ men _ . One man in particular, actually.” 

“Oh.”

Belle slid her hand over to his, linking her pinky around his. He sucked in a breath and she took the opportunity to lean down and press her lips to his. He moved his hand around to grasp hers. His hand slightly shook but she ignored it, focusing on the way his dry lips felt against hers.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long.” She admitted when they parted. 

He shook his head, his face clouded with confusion. “I don’t believe you.”

“Let me show you, then.” Belle leaned down to once again capture his lips with hers. It was totally worth the years of waiting.

 


	13. Bad Luck

When she was young she and her mother called it bad luck. 

She would tug on her mother’s skirt like a little girl, whispering. “I have bad luck today, Mother.”

Her mother always understood. She would bring Belle her favorite foods to satisfy her cravings and let her curl up in a ball with a book. When she lived in the Dark Castle, Belle had to learn to deal with her bad luck of the month on her own. She had no reason to tell anybody of her woman’s troubles during that time.

Now she was living with Rumple again, but here in the World Without Magic, she had reason to tell Rumple of her bad luck. 

She told Ruby about it as soon as she noticed the spot of blood in her underwear. Ruby taught her about the different ways women in this new world dealt with it. She even gave Belle a special pill that would help with the cramping. 

It was Saturday, so luckily Belle didn’t have to go to the library. She laid under the covers on her and Rumple’s bed, making her way through an atlas of this world. When Rumple came home from dealing with Regina, he kicked off his shoes and placed his jacket on the chair next to their bed. He joined her under the covers, curling around her from behind. 

“Missed you.” He mumbled into her hair.

Belle twisted around in his arms, tangling her legs with his. “Missed you too.”   
He captured her lips with his and Belle inhaled the sugary scent of the syrup that was on their pancakes this morning. His hands traveled under the t-shirt that she wore, warming her stomach in a pleasant way. 

Belle moaned against his lips. His hands traveled southward, though, and she stiffened. 

“What is it?” He asked, immediately sensing something was up and pulling away. 

Belle whispered. “It’s my time of the month.” Even though Ruby had told her women in this world felt more comfortable talking about it than in the Enchanted Forest, Belle’s face flamed.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Belle bit her lip.

“Do you want me to leave you alone?”

“No,” Belle responded. “Unless you don’t want to stay here?”

“Of course I’ll stay here. We can just lay here if you want.”

Belle tangled her legs with his once more. “I’d like that.”

  
  



	14. Retirement

For Gold, retirement was supposed to mean sleeping in until noon and eating doughnuts everyday with a cup of coffee. Retirement was supposed to mean going on extended vacations to relaxing beaches and using all his money for himself. 

But then he met Belle, and his lonely retirement plan changed completely. As she began her career as Storybrooke’s librarian, he became bored with running a shop of old junk day in and out. Even making rude comments to customers looking to make deals lost its magic after decades of doing so. He continued working there as he dated Belle, though. The library was right across from his shop. They spent their lunch breaks together and after they closed up for the night they met up on the sidewalk. 

He continued working there even when he married Belle. He saw no reason to spend time locked up in their pink Victorian home while she would be working on Main Street. When Belle told him she was pregnant, however, he began to plan for closing the shop for good. He kept some of the items in the store, using them to furnish their home, but most of the items he put up for sale online. What would have taken him years to sell in his shop took just weeks to sell online, and for good prices, too. He wondered why he hadn’t done it sooner. 

By the time Belle gave birth to Colette his only responsibility was collecting rent once a week. Belle felt guilty about continuing to work when they didn’t necessarily need the money, but Gold brought Colette to visit Belle at the library most work days anyway. Belle taught her to read before she started preschool, impressing her teachers with her ability to read any book handed to her.

She grew up fast. This morning she woke Gold and Belle up by jumping onto their bed, her brown curls still askew from sleeping. “Today’s the day!” She shouted at the top of her lungs, bouncing on the mattress. Gold, never a morning person, groaned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“And what day is that?”   
Colette stopped jumping to cross her arms over her chest. “Papa!” She scolded, “It’s my first day of kindergarten!”

Gold sat up. “Oh yes,” he nodded, “I remember now. Why don’t you put on your dress while I make breakfast.”

“Okay!” Colette nodded, jumping right off the bed and onto the floor, making Gold flinch. She ran off into the direction of her room and he and Belle left their bed to start their day.

He put extra chocolate chips in her pancakes. While the pancakes cooked, he and Belle signed a note to her to place in her lunchbox. Colette came down the stairs soon after that, wearing the yellow dress Belle bought for her just for this day. Colette scarfed down her pancakes quickly, grabbing her backpack and practically dragging Gold and Belle out the door. 

They made her stop outside the doors of Storybrooke Elementary to pose for pictures. 

“Can I go inside now?” She groaned as they made her switch poses. 

Belle snapped one last picture. “Okay now you can.”   
Colette bounced happily, turning to enter the large brick building. Before she stepped through the doorway, though, she paused and ran back to her parents. She wrapped her arms around each of them in a hug. “I love you.”

Gold and Belle said their I love you's back, wishing her good luck on her first day. And then she was off. As Gold walked Belle to the library, he broke the silence. “This was not how I pictured my retirement. But I’m glad it worked out this way.”   
Belle nodded, stopping at the door to the library. “Me too.” She brushed her lips against his briefly. Walking back to his home, Gold actually smiled at the Nolans as he passed them. Retirement was turning him into a softee. 


	15. Exchanging Negative Energy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway there :) Thank you for all the comments and kudos.

Lacey smoothed her polka dot dress, pulling it down just enough to show off what little cleavage she had. As a little girl she always wanted to go to the church carnival. The bright ferris wheel lights and snack stands appealed to any kid in Storybrooke, but just like the rest of the town it was a drab disappointment. 

Lacey finished a can of Pepsi Cola, flinging it into a trash bin. She could have asked Ruby if she wanted to join her, but lately she’d been getting weird vibes from Ruby, like she was bored of Lacey and too much of a coward to say it to her face. It was whatever, though. She and Ruby went through times like these before, but then they always bonded again when they needed somebody to tell their hookup stories to. 

Speaking of hooking up, maybe Lacey could use coming to the carnival alone to her advantage. It was the last week of summer after all, and she needed at least one memory to think about while she zoned out in class. Her whole summer consisted of sleeping in, working in her father’s flower shop, and occasionally sneaking out to a party. 

But even the parties were boring. It was like once you’d gone to a few, going to more meant nothing. The thrill wore off. 

Lacey purchased a vanilla ice cream cone, licking it as she strolled through the carnival grounds looking for fun. 

“Hey, Lace.” 

Lacey stopped dead in her tracks to see a guy in her grade, Gaston, leaning against the brick wall of the church. Gaston was the quarterback of the football team. He attended this church every Sunday and the whole town loved him. He also had a bit of a bad girl fetish. 

Basically he wanted to get in Lacey’s pants.

“Hey,” Lacey mumbled, forcing as much ice cream into her mouth as possible to avoid talking to him.

He walked up to her, towering over her. “You here with anyone?”

Lacey shook her head, trying to walk around him. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with teenage boys who expected the world to bend over backwards for them. 

“Why don’t you walk around with me?”

Lacey began walking. “I don’t want to.”

He followed her, “C'mon, Lace. We can go for a spin on the ferris wheel if you’d like.” Lacey felt a negative energy from him, and she wished he’d just leave her alone. He slipped his sweaty hand around her back, letting it slide down to cup her ass.

“I said I don’t want to,” Lacey hissed, shoving the rest of her ice cream cone on his shirt and smashing it with her hand. She wiped her sticky hand off on the bit of his shirt not covered in ice cream and broken cone pieces, rushing away from him before his brain could come up with a response. 

As she walked, someone fell into step with her. “That was cool.”

Lacey turned to see Rum Gold. He’d graduated a few years ago. He always wore leather, even in today’s heat he had a jacket. Lacey would think he was hot if he wasn’t dating Regina Mills. Regina had called Lacey a slut on more than one occasion. 

“Is that an ice cream pun?”

He smirked. “No.” They walked a few more feet in silence, and then he said, “I could buy you another one. If you want, that is. You barely got to start on that ice cream before he started talking to you.”

“Have you been stalking me?”

“No!” His eyebrows shot up. “I was just sitting on a nearby bench. Peoplewatching.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

“We broke up.”

Oh. Lacey did want more of that ice cream, so she agreed to let him buy her a cone. He bought one for himself, too, and they ended up on the ferris wheel licking away at their soft ice cream. 

By the time they got to the top, they’d both finished their cones. They sat there in silence, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. They were both just quiet people. But then the lights on the ferris wheel flickered, and all movement ceased.

They were stuck on the top of a ferris wheel. 

“Shit.” He muttered.

“What?”

“I don’t like heights.” 

Lacey could sense his discomfort in the way his shoulders tensed up near his ears and he ran his palms on his jeans. She scooted closer to him, putting her chilly hands on his face and locking their lips.

“What was that for?” He asked when she pulled away a few inches, the scent of vanilla ice cream lingering between them.

Lacey let her fingers play with his his sandy long hair. “A distraction.”

They made out until the ferris wheel lights flickered back on and the wheel began moving again. When they got off he asked her if she’d like to go to his place and she agreed. She let him take her away from  the dinging carnival music and back into the sleepy center of town, where he offered her his leather jacket to warm her skin in the cool night air. 


	16. "I Forgot The Answer"

“I forgot the answer.” Rum Gold muttered from the back, barely looking up from his phone.

Belle rolled her eyes, resting her head on her hand. She doodled in the corner of her notebook paper, looking for a distraction from how boring this class was. She had no talents in math, but she really could have gone for the Honors algebra class. It was her mistake. Now she was surrounded by kids who had no desire to make an effort in their education and a teacher who couldn’t care less. 

When the bell rang, the teacher, Ms. Mills, called out, “Miss French and Mr. Gold, please stay back for a moment.” 

Belle bit her lip, wondering if she’d done something wrong. She shuffled her way to Ms. Mills as slow as possible, waiting for all the students to file out of the classroom.

“Gold, you have the lowest grade in this class.” Ms. Mills said once he and Belle stood in front of her. “French, you have the highest grade in this class. Arrange tutoring sessions together.” Then she picked up her purse and left them in her classroom, her heels clicking in the direction of the staff room. 

Gold fiddled with the sleeve of his leather jacket. “You, uh, don’t have to do that.”

“It wouldn’t be any trouble,” Belle shrugged. She was already a tutor in English. Plus tutoring Rum could help her hone her math skills. “Maybe we could meet after school at the library? What day works for you?”

He looked at his Converse sneakers, scuffing them along the tiled floor. “Mondays I guess.”

“Alright.” Belle nodded. “See you next Monday.” 

At first the study sessions Belle and Rum sat doing their homework in silence, except for the occasional times when Rum admitted he couldn’t figure out an answer on his own. Belle was almost always able to help him, and when she wasn’t, they resorted to using the internet. Rum’s grade steadily rose and they consistently kept their arrangement, always meeting after school on Monday. 

Nothing changed about their days in the library until one day it started pouring while they studied for a test. Normally Belle would call her father to have him pick her up, but he was off at some flower arranging conference in Boston. At the end of their study session, rum took extra time packing his notebooks and calculator. “Do you need a ride?” He asked.

"Yeah, actually.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder, following him out.

They ran to his car fast so that they didn’t get too wet in the downpour. The red leather seats squeaked as they settled. 

“You have a nice car.” She said to break the silence.

“It’s my aunt’s.”   
“Oh,” Belle couldn’t quite picture his aunt. Or his uncle. “Does she live in town?”

“I have three aunts, actually. I live with them.”

Belle realized she’d never even seen his house. She’d been spending every week with him and she barely knew anything about him beyond the skin deep stuff. “Must have a big house to fit all those people,” she commented.

He shrugged. “It’s just the four of us.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. They’re kinda fun sometimes.” 

They spent the rest of the ride laughing about crazy aunts, and by the time he dropped her off at her place they were talking like best friends. 

Mondays were different after that. They talked all through doing their homework, sometimes not even getting much done because of how distracted they became by each other. They ended up staying at the library longer, until their stomachs rumbled with need for dinner. When that happened they would pack their stuff up and walk over to Granny’s for some burgers. 

As they sat out in the May sun, sipping iced teas in front of Granny’s, Rum cleared his throat. “Would you want to get together on Friday?”

Belle tilted her head. “To study?”   
“No,” he fiddled with his straw. “I mean like, you know, a date.” 

A goofy smile bloomed on Belle’s face, so she leaned forward to press her lips to his cheeks to hide it. “I’d love to.”

 


	17. Too Much

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to Robert Carlyle's new haircut for T2.

He always had long hair. Even as a young boy, his aunts let him keep it long. But now he’d gone and messed it up.

“They cut off too much,” he groaned into his phone. He went to run his hands through his hair, but then he realized there was none. His golden brown locks were gone. Strewn all over the floor of the salon.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Belle assured him over the phone.

But it was bad. His once long hair was now short and stubbly and completely gray. He couldn’t even recognize himself in the mirror when the hairstylist turned his chair around to look at his reflection.

She’d accidentally snipped way too short, so he told her to do whatever she had to in order to fix it. She was so nervous (or maybe so inexperienced- she had told him she only just graduated from beauty school) that she could only chop it all off. 

He looked at the reflection in his rearview mirror. Oh god. Was his hairline receding? His hair was his only good attribute, and he’d gone and ruined it. 

When he hung up with Belle, he turned his car around to visit Jefferson. 

“Who are you?” Jefferson asked when he swung open his door, grinning ear to ear like the Cheshire Cat. 

Rumple pushed his way through the doorway. “I need a hat.”

Jefferson led him down to his hat-making room. “Take your pick, friend.”   
Rumple grabbed the first one he saw, a tall black hat, and put it on. At least it covered the gray. 

“Take as many as you need.” Jefferson crossed his arms, leaning back against his desk.

“Just the one will do.” Rumple turned to leave.

“Would you like to stay for tea with Grace and me?”

“Maybe another time.” Rumple muttered as he left the mansion.

When he got home, the table was already set with dinner. Granny’s burgers for them and Granny’s lasagna for Colette, all chopped up for her to eat easily. Colette pointed at him, bouncing in her seat. “Hat.” She said, her mouth full of lasagna. 

“Rumple,” Belle smirked as he sat down in his seat. “Aren’t you going to take it off?”   
Well he figured he would have to at some point. He lifted it for a moment, letting them stare open-mouthed at his head then putting it back on. 

“Where hair?” Colette asked.

Rumple bit into his burger. 

“Papa got it cut.” Belle said. “It looks nice. Different, but nice.”

Rumple peered at her over his burger but said nothing. 

That night as he did the dishes, new top hat safely laying on the counter, Belle came up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his torso. She pressed her lips to the back of his neck. “You can always grow it back if you want.” She peppered kisses along his neck, scraping her teeth under his ear.

“Oh I want to.” He replied, turning around to face her.

“It’s really not that bad,” Belle said, running her hands over it. “I’m starting to get used to it.”

“I love you.” He let his lips turn up into a half smile.

Belle brushed her lips against his. “I love you too.”

 


	18. Closed Off to the Public

The wooden sign proclaiming “closed off to the public” did nothing to stop Lacey and Gold from venturing deeper into the forest.

Some called it the Enchanted Forest- probably because it was a popular spot for stoners on weekend nights. But on this Wednesday night only Gold and Lacey walked into the wooded area. They both had homework they could’ve been doing, but they preferred surrounding themselves with the trees, getting away from town even if just for an hour. Armed against the crisp October air with their leather jackets, they shuffled along the path, careful not to trip over twigs on the ground.

When they got to the cliff, they sat on the crunchy leaves, scooting until their legs dangled off the edge. The sun slowly slid down the horizon, leaving the sky painted with orange.

“The town looks bigger from up here,” Lacey observed, “brighter.” From where they sat, Storybrooke was an endless kingdom to be explored, with energy in every corner. But Lacey knew what it actually felt like to be in it- stifling, like a maze from Wonderland with no exit.

“It does look bigger than you’d expect.” Rum commented. Lacey turned her head to the side to face him. His shoulders were hunched up, his chest rising and falling more than normal. He looked...scared.

She wondered if she should say something. She wasn’t used to being the brave one. Usually she was the coward, always doing outrageous things that others interpreted as bravery. But from her perspective stealing liquor from her father’s cabinet to bring to her friends on a Friday night wasn’t an act of bravery. It was an act of boredom. 

“Are you alright?” She asked eventually. She bit her lip but it wasn’t in an attempt to seduce him or anything, like it normally was. She just felt out of her element in dealing with him. It wasn’t just the fact that he looked like he thought sitting at a cliff was a death wish. In the few weeks since they’d started seeing each other, she felt like she had no experience with dating. But that wasn’t true. She didn’t get the nickname Racy Lacey for nothing. Yet around him she became a middle schooler twirling her straightened hair with bright pink nails.

He wrapped his arm around her, easing her to lay her head on his shoulder. His hands ran through her hair as she leaned her cheek against his cool leather-clad shoulder. She’d had her hands all over people’s bodies, and she’d had the hands of others all over her body. But this caused her heart rate to speed up. Her first reaction was to pull away from the embrace, but soon they both relaxed their muscles, breathing against each other in silence. 

When the sun disappeared and the sky turned inky blue, they decided to return to civilization. Before they left the woods and continued on the sidewalk into town, Lacey stopped Gold, pulling his lips down to hers. He grinned against her lips, wrapping his arms around her body to pull her closer to him. They parted and pranced back into town hand in hand, small smiles playing at their lips.


	19. Finally Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame this on all the Glee I've been listening to (and maybe watching).

“I think I finally found a duet to perform at the Northeast Regional Championship!” Archie announced to the students. 

Belle sat up straight in her seat, doing her best to put on a neutral face. After coming in first at Sectionals, the Storybrooke High Glee Club had a chance at going to Regionals for the first time in almost five years. Everyone said it wasn’t about the awards, but deep down they knew an award would help. They had the talent, but nobody outside of their little club believed them because of their lack of awards. 

And though Belle was only a sophomore, advancing in the show choir competitions could only help her career. She planned to move to New York as soon as she graduated, hopefully attending Juilliard or some other refined school for the arts. When her father signed her up for ballet classes as a young girl he probably didn’t expect her to aspire to perform on Broadway one day, but she felt hopeful about her dreams. 

Though her level of optimism that she’d get the female part for the duet had been dwindling. First there was Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan. Crowned prom King and Queen at their junior prom last year, they were the longest running relationship in all of Storybrooke High. And not only that- they were magic on stage. In the judges’ notes from the Sectional Championship they said they’d felt their chemistry on stage while they sang their duet. Mary Margaret and David always smiled at other students and never had anything but nice words to say, but they intimidated the rest of the Glee Club when it came to auditions for duets.

And then there was Regina and Zelena Mills- the sisters who loved the stage more than they loved each other. But despite the cutthroat competition for the female part in the duet, Belle still auditioned. Mr. Hopper (or Archie, as they called him during club meetings) smiled throughout her audition, but she didn’t think anything of it. He’d probably do that even if the student singing sounded like a beached whale. 

Then there was the matter of Rum.

She met Rum at the beginning of the year when he joined Glee Club. She’d never pictured him to have any desire to sing in show choir. He wore leather jackets and smoked in the stairways during school. Based on his haircut alone, he wasn’t the type of guy a girl wanted to bring home to her parents. But Rum agreed to join Glee Club at the request of his friend Jefferson, who’d begged him to join and take the tenth available position. They needed ten members to compete. Rum probably made Jefferson agree to some sort of deal, but he stayed true to his word, coming to every meeting and even participating.

Belle never expected him to have a nice singing voice or the ability to play guitar. He captivated her. After a club meeting that ran late one Friday Belle asked him if he’d like to go to Granny’s with her. They talked over burgers and ended up making out in the alley behind the diner. 

They never defined it, but they went out on dates sometimes and occasionally kissed. If Mary Margaret and David were the Snow White and Prince Charming of the club, Rum and Belle became the nameless peasants living in the Charming kingdom. 

They’d done duets together during club meetings, but never once on stage.

Archie grinned from ear to ear, holding the piece he wanted for the duet at Regionals. He handed one copy to Rum and one to Belle. They were to sing the duet. 

“Congrats guys,” Jefferson whisper-shouted from the back. 

Belle bit her lip to contain her excitement, turning her head down to look at the song. 

They were singing “Faithfully.” She smiled. The club had a running joke that Archie did Journey to death but kept going back to it, squeezing the band’s discography for all that it was worth. 

He then handed out their group song. “Anyway You Want It.” 

“What about the other group song?” Emma asked.

Archie adjusted his small round glasses. “I haven’t come up with one yet.”

“Any ideas?” August Booth asked.

Archie shook his head. “No, and I need you guys to help me come up with one.”

They sat for a few minutes, throwing out song titles but never agreeing on one. 

“C’mon guys.” Archie said. “There’s gotta be a Journey song we haven’t done yet.”   
Everyone laughed, but eventually Graham suggested they just do “Don’t Stop Believing” again. It was a classic and they had great choreography for it. 

The day of the competition, Rum and Belle stood in the lobby of the school the competition was held in. They faced the doors they would enter the auditorium through. They’d rehearsed this back at Storybrooke High countless times. They’d enter through the back, walking through the aisles as they sang the first few verses with the spotlights following them from the doors to the stage. Then as the song came to a close the curtains would open to reveal the rest of the club standing there. 

Belle fiddled with her golden sparkly dress, making sure everything would be perfect when she walked out into the auditorium. She glanced at Rum out of the corner of her eyes, watching him fiddle with his Gold tie. He met her eyes and they walked to meet in the middle, their shoulders tense with nerves.

“Break a leg.” Belle told him.

“I love you.” 

Belle smiled up at him, but the moment was cut short by the announcer’s voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, our second competitors, winners of the Coastal Maine’s Sectionals- Storybrooke High!” Rum and Belle hurried back to their respective doors, each taking a deep breath and pushing the doors open as the piano began to play. 


	20. Waking Up to Disaster

They woke up to the sound of glass shattering in Rumple’s workroom. He shot out of bed, using magic to dress himself in his signature leather pants and vest as he disappeared in a cloud of red smoke. Belle sat up, pulling a robe on over her skin to control the gooseflesh that appeared in the cool morning air. She braced herself to hear the shouts of whoever dared try to steal from Rumplestiltskin, but from their bedroom she heard nothing. 

She tip-toed out of the room and up the stairs to his workroom. When she gently pushed open the door, she saw Rumple holding little Colette on his hip, wiping her hands with a wet cloth. 

Ah, yes. It had been Colette’s first night sleeping in a regular bed as opposed to a crib. They should’ve known she would take the opportunity to explore one of the most dangerous parts of the castle while they slept. 

“Papa says I made mess.” Colette informed Belle, her blue eyes bright with excitement from the mess that she did in fact make. His work table was cluttered with glittery bits and thick potions dripping off it. She broke the glass when she tried to reach a glowing green potion on a shelf. 

Colette had always been prone to curiosity. She took after Belle, always trying to unlock more of the mystery behind the castle when she first came here to work for Rumple. With time, Belle turned her attentions to Rumple himself, for he was more of a mystery to be uncovered. He told her of his son and then let her go. It was then that Belle realized he loved her. So she returned back and tried to give him True Love’s Kiss, but he believed her to be scheming with Regina to make him powerless so he cast her out. Regina nearly captured Belle but she was able to escape the Evil Queen and return to the Dark Castle. 

By the time she returned, Rumple was ready to believe in what they had. They agreed on a strict no-kissing rule, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do...other things. 

She still remembered the day they decided to tell her father.

Belle held her chin up like the princess her family expected her to be. Rumple’s fingers curled around her waist, his clawlike nails digging into the yellow silk dress she wore. 

“Are you sure about this?” He asked.

Belle nodded, and with a wave of his hand, the door to the war room opened up. They entered in a parallel of what it had been when he took her away all those months ago.

Back then she held herself stiff as the dead body that she thought she was to keep from shaking under the Dark One’s touch. Now she leaned into him. Now they called her the Dark Lady. 

Her father didn’t rush over to her when he saw her. He exchanged nervous glances with everyone in the room. These people used to be her friends, but now they were too scared to whisper her name. 

Belle left the safety of Rumple’s arms to approach her father. She avoided locking eyes with Gaston.

“Father.” She greeted him, but he just stared at her. “I thought you should know, you are to be a grandfather.”

His face turned the color of a tomato but he said nothing. They’d expected shouting. They’d expected harsh words. But instead her father just calmly asked her to leave and never come back. So they went back to the Dark Castle to prepare for the birth of Colette on their own. 

Rumple went on less deals to spend more time taking care of Belle. He brought her meals and books, telling her to stay in bed. By the end of her pregnancy Belle almost wished he would go on a deal so that she could walk around the castle. But then she gave birth and they were both doting on their new daughter. 

They grew closer to casting the curse to get to Baelfire, but in the meantime they focused on raising Colette. It was a full time job.

“Time to go back to bed.” Rumple announced once he made sure Colette had no remnants of magic on her. 

“No playtime?”

“You can play when you wake up at a decent time,” Belle replied, following Rumple and Colette back to her room. They tucked her in and returned back to their bed. 

Rumple magicked his silky pajamas back on and Belle slipped off her robe. They laid back, Belle resting her head on Rumple’s chest. “She takes after you.” He murmured into her hair.

“Can’t argue with that. But she gets the waking up in the middle of the night thing from you.”

He scoffed. “Dark Ones don’t need sleep.”

Belle smirked, lifting her head up and scooting up so that their faces lined up. “Good.” She pressed her lips to the side of his, trailing kisses down his neck and along the collar of his shirt. “I can think of a better use of our time.”

  
  
  



	21. Courage and Cowardice

Belle turned down a trip to Hogsmeade to study for the N.E.W.T.s, but with the sun streaming through the windows of Ravenclaw Tower she wished she were outside. She’d been through her notes so much her head spun when she looked at them. Perhaps it was time for a break.  
She shoved her books to the side, laying down on the ground and rubbing at her temples.  
The castle was eerily silent since most were in Hogsmeade. Maybe she could take the opportunity to explore Hogwarts. Gathering her books, she stood up.  
“French.”  
Belle dropped her books with a gasp. “How long have you been standing there?”  
“Just a few seconds,” Rumplestiltskin shrugged. He was also in his seventh year. Belle remembered meeting him her first time coming to Hogwarts. She was one of the first on the train, so she chose a seat and waited, swinging her legs under her. At the time Belle was still waiting for a camera crew to jump out and tell her that the whole thing was a joke and magic wasn’t real. But then more people boarded and from all the enchanted suitcases and leaping candies, Belle realized that this was really happening.  
A girl about Belle’s age with dark curls and a red painted smirk took the seat in front of Belle, and an older red-haired girl joined. The dark haired one introduced herself as Regina, and the red-haired one was her sister, Zelena. They told her that their mom taught at Hogwarts, but since it was Regina’s first year she wanted to ride the train.  
Another kid joined them, with long brown hair and ratty sneakers. “Can I join?” He asked. Belle easily placed his accent as a Scottish one. She had only been in the UK for a few weeks since she found out about her magic but she already had talents in identifying all types of European accents.  
He introduced himself and took the seat next to Belle. Zelena turned to Belle, crossing her legs. “Now where did you say you were from, Belle?”  
“Australia.”  
Zelena nodded, twirling a strand of her red hair around her finger. “And what do your parents do?”  
“My dad is a florist.”  
“Oh,” Zelena nodded. “He must have done well in Herbology when he went to Hogwarts.”  
“He didn’t go to Hogwarts.”  
“Australian wizarding school?”  
“He’s not a wizard.”  
Zelena exchanged a look with Regina. Rumplestiltskin shifted in his seat next to her.  
“What about your mother?” Zelena asked.  
“Not a witch.”  
Regina scrunched her nose. Zelena lifted her chin up high. “So you’re a filthy Mudblood then.”  
Regina gasped. Rumplestiltskin tensed next to her. “That’s not okay.” He said.  
“Well she is.”  
Rumplestiltskin stood, motioning for Belle to join him. Once they found other seats, he explained the word to her.  
Since then, Belle and Rumplestiltskin had each other’s backs. They both got sorted into Ravenclaw and they always sat next to each other in their classes. He taught her the ways of the Wizarding world and she taught him about the Muggle world. It was sort of an unofficial deal of sorts between them.  
“How’s N.E.W.T.s studying going?”  
“I think I broke my brain.”  
He chuckled. “That’s impossible.”  
“Yeah. Can’t break something that’s already broke.”  
“That’s not what I meant.”  
Belle plopped down on a couch. “I definitely don’t have a brain. I mean who tells Professor Mills that she’s wrong straight to her face?”  
Rumplestiltskin joined her on the couch. “Someone with courage.”  
“It seemed like a rather stupid move to me. Besides, I’m not brave.”  
“Belle you’re the bravest person I know.”  
Belle’s breath caught in her throat. She’d always wanted to hear that. “Doesn’t feel like it.”  
“If one of us is a coward it’s me.”  
“That’s not true.” Belle scolded. “Remember that first time on the train? You stood up for me. You were my hero.”  
Rumplestiltskin’s eyes flicked to her lips. They both leaned in. She could smell cinnamon on him- it must have been something in his breakfast. Their lips touched, but he pulled away.  
“Sorry.”  
Belle shook her head. “For what?”  
“For kissing you. You don’t want that.”  
“I can decide for myself,” Belle informed him. She leaned back in. This was much better than studying.


	22. Becoming a Burden

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Belle marched into his classroom the second his students filed out. She knew they both had a free period at this time. Of course she knew that. She knew almost everything about him- they were best friends after all.  
When she began teaching English at Storybrooke High, she stumbled her way through days. Greasy teenage boys tried to flirt with her and she locked herself in her room to eat lunch. She was leaving school late when she bumped into Gold on the way out of his room. He taught history just across the hall from her. Based on what the kids said she should have feared him, but they got along great. He also took his lunches in his room, so they started eating them together.   
They told each other everything. He helped her with accumulating to living in the US while she supported him as he went through his divorce.   
They told each other everything. But she found out this from someone else.   
“I didn’t want to become a burden on you.”  
“Gold.” She walked around his desk, pushing herself up to sit on it and placing her hand over his. “You know I’ll always be there for you.”  
Gold’s face scrunched up, but he covered it with his hand. “She doesn’t deserve him.” He growled.  
“I know.” Belle patted his hand. “You can still see him, right?”  
“Only on weekends. He’s my boy and I’ll barely have the chance to raise him.”  
“You can get through this.” Belle said. “Maybe-” The bell rang, interrupting them. He shot up out of his chair and she slid off his desk. “Don’t ever think you’re a burden to me.” She said, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her lips to his cheek. She spun around and left the room before he could respond.   
She’d have to wait until a more pleasant day to ask him out on a pleasant date. The timing just wasn’t right yet.


	23. Extra Credit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With a chapter title like this you know what this will be. Let's assume she's 18.

Belle shoved her math book in her backpack, flying out of the class. She stayed after school to study for the final with Ms. Mills and now all she wanted to do was curl up under her covers and sleep for the next month. Ms. Mills wasn’t particularly her favorite person, with her cackling laugh and wicked punishments for those who wronged her, but she needed the help. Not even minutes into the math review and Belle wanted to tear her hair out, but she braved it through the whole review session, getting answers to all her questions.

As she rounded the corner, she saw Mr. Gold walking into his room with a stack of papers in hand. “Hello Mr. Gold!” She called out. He was her English teacher. Known as the crankiest teacher in Storybrooke High, everybody feared AP Lit with Gold. He gave out piles of homework and accepted no excuses on anything. He didn’t have to raise his voice to get his class to comply, but when he did, teachers across the hall could hear his bellowing Scottish brogue. 

He limped around as he lectured, his brown eyes falling on students like a predator’s eyes on prey. He always dressed like he was going to walk the runway. Or attend a funeral. Belle should have been scared of him. But...she felt herself drawn to him.

Maybe it was his obvious love of books. He acted scenes out with grandiose gestures and funny voices. Despite everyone’s fear of him, he did enjoy hearing the viewpoints of the students. At prom she caught him with his pointed nose in a book and she teased him about being an awful chaperone, to which he replied that he figured if he chaperoned awfully enough they wouldn’t make him do it next year. He really did care about the students, though. Belle knew he cared about her, though most likely not in the way she wanted. 

“What are you doing here so late, Miss French?” He asked, placing his stack of papers on his cluttered desk.

Belle walked into the room, letting the door shut behind her. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“Grading essays. Somebody needs to tell Gaston when to use each form of ‘there’. Correcting just that took me a good chunk of time.”

Belle dropped her backpack on the floor, sliding to sit on top of a desk across from his. “He doesn’t have enough brain cells for that.”

Gold grabbed a pen from his desk, flicking it between his fingers. “I thought you two were dating.”   
“We broke up long ago.” Belle swung her legs beneath her, glad she shaved this morning. “It was just for fun anyway. I could never truly give my heart to someone as superficial as he.” 

“I always thought you were too good for him.” Gold said. “Too good for most of the guys here, in fact.”

“Most?” Belle asked.

Gold paused.

“Who in this building would be a good match for me?”

“I always thought you and Mr. Hopper would be a good match.”

Belle gasped. “That’s not even funny! My friend actually has a crush on him.” She bit her lip to keep from giggling too much. Ruby, the only openly bisexual student in all of Storybrooke High, only crushed on straight girls and guys old enough to be her father. Belle had no place to judge, though. All she thought about in class was running her hands through Gold’s hair as he pinned her against the whiteboard.

“A crush on a teacher? Miss French I’m scandalized.”

Belle smirked. Only one week of senior year left. She stood from the desk, walking around his to slide on top of it, facing him. “She’s not the only one.” 

“Miss French-”   
“Belle.”   
“Belle.” He licked his lips. “I’m your teacher.”

“And water is wet, yes.” Belle let her hand travel down to cover his hand playing with the pen. “I won’t tell. In a week it won’t matter anyway.”

He groaned. “I don’t think you realize what you’re asking for.” 

“I don’t think you’re against this.”

He paused, probably thinking of a way to word what he wanted to say. But Belle didn’t want to talk. She listened to him lecture almost five hours a week. At night when she read books for class she could hear his Scottish accent in her head reading the words. Belle wanted something else.

She stood, moving to straddle him in his leather chair. His eyes widened but his hands came around her waist. Belle leaned in, letting breath pass between them. Her forehead hit his, and she smelled his cinnamon breath. Up this close her eyes went cross trying to see his brown eyes. She held her lips right in front of his, waiting for him to push her away, but he didn’t. 

Gently, she closed the remaining inch between them, finally tasting him. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, pulling her closer so that her breasts crushed against his chest. Belle rocked to achieve a little friction, feeling him harden beneath her. She groaned. He took the opportunity of their lips being apart to kiss along her jawline. She ran her hands through his hair, holding him against her neck. It was as soft as it looked.

His hands traveled down her waist, moving to cup her ass. Belle was thankful for her short summer skirts. “You know,” he said. “I won’t give you extra credit for this.”

“Darn.” Belle shook her head, catching the mischievous glint in his eye.

They moved so she sat on the desk again. They pushed his belongings aside to make room, freezing when they heard a glass crash. “It’s just a cup.” He shrugged, moving his hands under her skirt. Belle rolled her hips against his warm hand, biting her lip. He pushed her underwear to the side, sliding a finger easily through her folds. He pumped one finger inside her, then two. Belle’s breath quickened, and her arms shook from the effort of holding herself up. 

Just when she thought she was nearing her climax he pulled away.

She gave him a questioning look and he just smirked, shucking his jacket off. “Getting a little warm.”

Belle nodded, leaning back. He rolled his chair closer to the desk and Belle felt the tickle of his hair against her thighs. His lips touched her inner thigh. “Is this alright?” He lifted his head to look into her eyes.

“Yes,” Belle breathed, carding her hand through his hair. He slipped her underwear all the way off, sticking it in his back pocket. He licked and sucked where she was most sensitive, making her back arch as she bit hard into her lip to keep from shouting. Her hand twisted in his hair, holding him where she needed him most. 

When she came she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the moan she made. He smirked as he pulled back, helping her off the desk and to her feet. Belle adjusted her skirt, then leaned up to plant one last kiss on his lips to, tasting herself on him.

“See you Monday?” She asked.

“First period.” He sat back at his desk with a smug look on his face. “Don’t be late.”


	24. "It's About Time"

“It’s about time to start pushing.”   
Belle sucked in a breath, biting her lip so hard she feared blood would bloom. She and Rumple had been attending birthing classes here in New York City for weeks. They prepared a nursery in their apartment, painting the walls purple and furnishing it with furniture they picked out of a magazine. They’d texted Henry on their way to the hospital, but other than that it was just the two of them alone in the city, ready to welcome a third person into their lives.

The pain of childbirth made Belle drip with sweat. Back in the Enchanted Forest, Belle always feared giving birth. Women complained of the pain, and some even died from it. Plus she thought she would be raising her child alongside Gaston. 

Back just six years ago she had no idea how different her life would be. She never pictured herself screaming in a tiny hospital room as she gave birth to a baby who would be the product of True Love. When she heard her daughter’s cries, it was all worth it. Tears formed in her own eyes at the sound, and sure enough, when she looked at Rumple she saw he was crying, too. 

They told the doctor the name and waited with baited breath until they could hold her. 

“She’s beautiful, just like her mother.” Rumple whispered, running his hand along Colette’s pink chubby cheek.

“Hush,” Belle giggled. “She hasn’t even opened her eyes yet.”

The doctors asked if they wanted to let any visitors in, but Rumple and Belle were insistent that in the whole city of New York, they were the only two awaiting the birth of this baby. But they would love their baby with twice the amount of love in the hearts of all of New York City. 

When night came they told the nurses to set up a crib in their room instead of sending their daughter to the nursery for all the babies of the hospital. With Colette sleeping closeby, Rumple slipped into the bed next to Belle. 

“I have something for you.” He said.

Belle quirked her eyebrow, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “What?”

He held up a styrofoam plate with a chocolate chip cookie on it. Belle smiled, grabbing for it with the speed of a predator going after prey. She bit into the thick cookie. It was a little drier than expected. “Certainly not the best hospital cookie,” she remarked, taking another bite. “But I’d eat anything at this point.” She finished the cookie, brushing the crumbs off the bed. “Thank you.” She kissed him, her lips landing on the corner of his. Then she wrapped her arms around him, snuggling up to him and closing her eyes for the night. 


	25. Counting to 100

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a downer. I've been going through some stuff in my personal life but I didn't want to put off writing these, so sorry if you feel like the quality is getting worse lol.

Belle knocked on Rum’s door. Just hours ago they were giggling in English class, passing notes about Mr. Heller. After class they went outside for lunch, Rum sitting on a bench with Belle laying, her head in his lap and her legs dangling off the edge of the bench.

Then they walked home, kissing goodbye as they parted ways. Belle spent the rest of the day working in the shop. She sold flowers to plenty of people- after the daffodils bloomed everyone wanted more color in their front yards. When the phone rang, she answered it before the second ring could start. Her father would be proud. But instead of someone looking to purchase flowers, she heard Dr. Whale’s voice.

She wanted to lock herself in her room after her father she dealt with it, but instead she walked to Rum’s house. Tears streamed down her face so she put on sunglasses, even though the sun was long gone from the sky. 

His aunt opened the door. “Belle!” Belle took off her sunglasses. “What happened, dear?” Belle’s face scrunched up. She couldn’t say it outloud. His aunt ushered her in, sending her to Rum’s room. 

Belle knocked on his door and he swung it open, his face immediately changing from stoic to concerned in a moment. He wrapped his arms around her. Belle hugged him to her, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Her  entire body shook but she kept sobbing until she felt she had no more tears to shed for now.

“Belle?” He asked, leading her into his room to sit atop his bed. He grabbed a glass from

his nightstand and offered it to her. 

Belle took a sip of the lukewarm water and laid her head on his shoulder. “My mom.”

His hand went around her to rub up and down her back. “What happened to her?”

“A c-c-c-” her voice hiccuped as she tried to get the words out. “A car crash. She died immediately.” She wailed again, wrapping her arms around Rum to get her tears all over his other shoulder. 

“I don’t know what to say.” His voice sounded strained. He was close to her mom, too.

Since the day they met on the playground, doubting the other had the ability to count to one hundred, Belle and Rum had been inseparable. Throughout elementary school he came over for playdates twice as much as Ruby. 

Then when they got a little older, it was Belle’s mother who convinced Belle to pursue the relationship romantically, even if it meant risking a great friendship. Luckily their friendship strengthened.

But right now Belle didn’t need friendship, or a relationship forged from a friendship. Right now she needed her mom. She snuggled into Rum. She wouldn’t feel better tomorrow. She probably wouldn’t feel better in a month. But with the help of Rum, hopefully she would feel better by next year. 


	26. Magic Trick

“I’ve had enough of your magic tricks,” Belle huffed as she grabbed the duster from where Rumple levitated it in the air.

Rumple’s gleeful face fell a little. “It’s not a trick, dear.” 

Belle furrowed her brow, waiting for him to tack that last sound at the end, but it never came. Did he choke on it? He if he didn’t call her Belle, he’d always call her “dearie.”

Belle shrugged. “Admittedly I don’t know much about magic.”

“Good.” Rumple sat at the head of the table, pouring more tea into the chipped cup. “You don’t want to know more about it. Magic is powerful but it has the power to destroy the good in this world.”

Belle played with the duster in her hands. She thought of the library Rumple had given her months ago. She’d of course seen many books on magic. They never sparked her interest, but now that he told her to stay away from it, she just had to peek at a book on the subject.

So that night she curled up with a potion manuel, reading what types of ingredients were good and bad for which intentions. As she got to the section on sleeping potions, a silver chain fell out of the book and clinked on the floor. Belle reached down to grab it, but as soon as her fingers grazed it, it snapped up and secured itself around her wrist. 

Belle tried to slide it off, but it fit itself perfectly around her wrist. So she looked for a clasp, but this bracelet appeared to have no way to remove it other than magic.

Belle groaned, setting the book aside to climb the stairs to Rumple’ work tower. She knocked before entering, and when he called for her to come in she walked in to see him laying on the couch with his arm covering his eyes. “You should sleep.” She told him.

He rubbed at his eyes, sitting up. “Dark Ones don’t need sleep. Why are you here?”   
Belle approached the couch, holding out her hand. “Do you recognize this bracelet.” He eyed the silver chain with a pensive look, then hovered his hand over hers for a moment. “Where did you find that?”   
“In a book about magic. It just slipped out and when I touched it, it wrapped around my wrist like this.”   
He frowned. “Strange.”

“Why?” Belle bounced her weight from one leg to the other. “What does that mean?”

“It means…” he wiped his hands on his leather pants, adjusting how he sat on the couch, “that you have a True Love out there somewhere. If it wraps itself around one’s wrist, it means that a True Love is out there for that person, and that the only one to remove the bracelet will be that True Love.”

Belle shook her head, twisting the chain around her wrist. “I’ve only had one proper suitor and I can assure you we did not have True Love.” Belle always liked the idea of finding her other half and happily settling down with them like her parents did, but that was never in the plan for her. She would never find True Love and the sooner she accepted that, the better. “Just take it off.”

Rumple sighed, going to grab at the bracelet, but when his fingers brushed against the chain, it unlatched itself, falling to the floor. They both stared at the chain of metal on the ground. 

“What...what does that mean?” Belle asked.

Rumple cleared his throat. “It happened, Belle.”

“What are you saying?”   
“That’s it.” Rumple looked up at her, standing from where he sat on the couch. “I touched it and it fell off. I would only be able to do that if…”   
“You’re my True Love.” Belle’s lips quirked up in a smile. She ran her hand up his leather vest and let her fingers play with his hair behind his head. 

Rumple’s hands came to rest on her hips, light as a feather. “I want to try something,” he whispered.

“Okay.”   
His fingers gently tilted her chin up. He brushed his lips against hers, deepening the kiss before abruptly pulling back.

“What just happened?” Belle asked.

Rumple stared at the floor a moment longer before looking up at her with a glint in his eyes. “True Love’s Kiss.”

“That’s a pretty neat magic trick.” Belle giggled.


	27. Remembering a Lullaby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. So I really wanted to publish this whole challenge in May but then life happened and I really couldn't bring myself to finish it but I'm back now!! Hope you all enjoy this even though it's super short :)

Sitting in a small chair, Belle rocked Colette in her cradle, humming the tune to a lullaby long forgotten. A knock in the doorframe caused her head to snap up. “Rumple!” She smiled. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”   
Rumplestiltskin slipped off his large leather vest, laying it on top of Colette’s bookcase. “The Evil Queen actually agreed with me for once. How has she been?” He squatted down next to the cradle. 

“She missed her papa’s lullabies,” Belle responded.

Rumple pulled up another chair next to Belle. “What were you just humming?” He asked.

Belle shrugged. “I can’t remember the words.” She returned to humming the soft tune to Colette, whose blue eyes blinked up at her parents.

If anyone in the Enchanted Forest heard that the Dark One ended his days by rocking his daughter to sleep with his wife, they wouldn’t believe it. But as Belle finished the tune and turned to Rumple, nobody could have denied the happy crinkle in the corners of his eyes. 

“I think I remember that one,” he said, leaning down to tuck the blanket tighter around Colette. He cleared his throat. “Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green / When I am king, dilly, dilly, You shall be queen.”

Belle’s smiled. Her father forbid her from returning home when he found out of her pregnancy. He claimed Rumplestiltskin had cast some spell on her and that he wouldn’t acknowledge any child Belle had with him. When Belle and Rumple got to their bedroom that night, she cried on his leather-clad shoulder. She’d grown up with cousins and grandparents and her child would grow up in the Dark Castle. 

But that didn’t mean her child had to have a life filled with evil plots and magic spells. Rumple and Belle began learning everything they could about raising a baby. They read every book on the subject they could find. And when the day came and the midwife told them they had a daughter, they both cried. People whispered about the Dark One and his Dark Lady, but all they really wanted from that point on was to have a happy family. And they achieved that. 

Belle joined in with Rumple, lulling Colette to sleep. “Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so? / 'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so.”

Once Colette’s eyes drifted shut and remained that way, they snuffed out the candles in her room and walked out into the hall. Before Belle could realize what was happening, a cloud of red smoke encased her and she was transported to their bedroom.

“Rumple!”

“What?” He smirked. “I just spent two days without my wife.”

Belle leaned up, their noses touching. “Well now we’re together.”

He brushed his lips over hers. “I really missed rocking Colette to sleep, but I also missed the feeling of your lips against mine.”

Belle pulled him closer. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

  
  
  



	28. Follow the Leader

“C’mon, you always get to be the line leader!” Rum groaned. He and Belle French, his best friend, lied together in the grass behind a picnic table. Storybrooke Elementary was a rather large school, but out of all the students, they were each other's’ only friends. They didn’t mind, though. During recess they liked to read or swing on the swings (if they got to the swings fast enough) or just lie in the grass and talk. Usually they talked about their classes, but today their talk turned into a bit of a fight.

“So?” Belle said, “ladies first.”

Rum rolled around to lie on his stomach. “I’m older so I should have a turn to lead the line.”

“You’re only older by four months!” Belle protested. 

Rum thought for a moment. “What about a deal?”   
Belle smiled, sitting up to sit crisscross applesauce in the grass. She wore a skirt, but it was long enough for this type of thing. “Alright,” she said, “I’ll let you be the line leader if...you kiss me.”

“Deal.”

Belle raised her eyebrows. “Oh.”

Rum sat up, too. “Do you not want to?”

“I want to.” She responded.

Rum turned around to find their teacher. She stood on the blacktop, recess whistle in hand and eyes watching the students like a mother bear watching over her cubs. He stood up, then offered his hand out for Belle. She took it and he lifted her up, their faces already close. “Let’s go behind that tree,” he said, leading her over to the biggest tree in the yard. 

When they got there, he took a deep breath. “Ok.”   
“Ok,” she echoed. 

She leaned her face up towards his. He was short for their age but she was the shortest in their class, so he bent his legs a little to accommodate for her. She stopped just short of his lips, and he realized she wanted him to close the space. So he leaned forward the extra bit and placed his lips on hers, tasting the cherry candy she’d had in her lunchbox. 

She smiled up at him when they parted, and he found himself smiling back. The teacher blew her whistle to let them know of the end of recess, and they walked hand in hand to where they were supposed to line up on the blacktop. Belle let him stand first in line, while she took the second spot. 

He wanted to think he got the better end of the deal, but when he sneaked a glance back at her standing second in line, she was smiling to herself. 


	29. A Long Day on the Job

Adam Gold still remembered Belle French’s first day working at Storybrooke High. The new English teacher was shorter than most of her students, but the way she walked the halls in her five inch heels had half of them hanging their mouths open like codfish and the other half silent with envy.

They both had fourth period off, so when she arrived in the breakroom it was just the two of him. Her first day went rather smooth, especially considering it was her first day ever of teaching. His first day was filled with moaning groaning students who wanted nothing to do with chemistry and less to do with him. 

But Belle immediately took up to conversation with him. He figured the other teachers hadn’t told her to stay away from him yet. They always warned new teachers to stay away from Gold. He was that one weird teacher nobody wanted to socialize with. Belle kept talking to him during fourth period, though. Everyday they talked about the school and the students and soon their conversations turned. They talked about moving to America and finding Storybrooke and books they liked and childhood best friends and at some point Gold realized he knew Belle better than he’d known anyone else in a long time.

They kept their relationship to a strictly business one, though. They only met during fourth period.

But then he had to chaperone homecoming and since she was new, she volunteered to. And when they left they stopped by at the Rabbit Hole. Neither of them were big fans of the dingy bar, but they got cheap drinks and he walked her back to her apartment. They both stumbled along the dimly lit road. When they got to her place, she invited him in. 

The other teachers never seemed to notice, but after a few weeks the kids began pointing out that Mr. Gold would spend more time in Mrs. French’s room than necessary and that he would smile at those who passed him in the halls. 

But after a long day on the job, once Gold and Belle finished giving extra help to students, she would wander into his room. They locked the door to his classroom and kissed behind a lab table like classmates. The kids still didn’t know for certain, but maybe in a few years Storybrooke High would have a Mrs. Gold.


End file.
